If Nigeria’s tourism sector is to achieve its huge potentials, there is an urgent need to create a dedicated ministry for Tourism to be managed by tourism professionals, and the establishment of a legal framework for tourism to start the chronological implementation of the Nigeria Tourism Masterplan.
These and several others were some of the recommendations contained in a final communique issued by tourism practitioners in Nigeria after a 7-week long meeting organized by the Nigeria Travel Week and Travelscope Magazine.
Titled A Fresh Start For Tourism In Nigeria: Selling Nigeria To Nigerians, the stakeholders posited that the devastation brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic has come with a silver lining for Nigeria in the opportunity to look inwards and activate domestic tourism which in turn can boost the revenue diversification drive of the government.
The communique was issued after a total of seven meetings comprising of two general meetings and five other sector-specific meetings to decipher the issues and opportunities for collaboration amongst the different sectors to drive tourism.
The stakeholders were unanimous in their call for steps to be taken to start the chronological implementation of the Nigeria Tourism Masterplan while a special tourism fund which should be created for the peculiar needs of the tourism industry and domiciled in the Development Bank of Nigeria.
Also, they canvassed that tour operators should communicate their domestic tour packages to travel agents to enable them to sell destination Nigeria to Nigerians while introducing special pricing incentives for Nigerians just like other countries where you have different rates for locals and foreigners
Speaking further, they reiterated the need to add value to Nigeria’s tourism assets including cultural festivals, ecotourism, and historical attractions to start earning revenue. This they said could be possible when all sectors of the tourism industry begin to be retrospective about their strategies for collaboration with other sectors to promote domestic tourism.
They also called on federal and state governments to embark on massive sensitization and marketing drives to create awareness about domestic tourism and change the false perception of Nigeria as an unsafe destination.
Policymakers were also charged to always carry tourism stakeholders along with new plans and policies of government to capture the ground realities and accelerate the growth of the industry.
Nigerians in the diaspora were also called on to promote and drive tourism including key festivals and historical tourist sites.
Recall that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating effect on practically all industries worldwide. However, the tourism industry undeniably has experienced the most damaging impact these past months due to the inability of people to move from one place to another because of travel restrictions and bans, cancellations of events and festivals, and the apathy to travel due to health concerns and compulsory health restrictions in several countries.
As such, it became imperative to start to think about life after COVID-19, and perhaps even immediately after the lifting of initial restrictions.
The meeting was, therefore, aimed at sharing ideas on fostering collaboration between the 5 sectors of tourism and growing domestic tourism in Nigeria. The meeting was hosted by Omololu Olumuyiwa, President, Association of Nigerian Journalists & Writers of Tourism (ANJET), and Efetobo Awhana, CEO of Nigeria Travel Week. Panelists from the different sectors include Atunyota Akpobome (Alibaba), Brian Efa, GM, Ibom Hotel & Golf Resort, Hassan Zakari Lagos Rep, Association of Tourism Practitioners of Nigeria, ATPN, Susan Akporiaye, President, National Association of Nigerian Travel Agencies, NANTA, and Wale Ojo-Lanre, DG, Ekiti State Council of Arts & Culture.
There were over a hundred participants at the meeting drawn from across the tourism sector which included Folorunsho Coker, DG, Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Capt Toritseju Ogisi, Former Director of Flight Operations, Nigeria Airways, Alhaji Saleh Rabo, President, Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN) and Abiola Ogunbiyi, Chairman, Lagos State Traditional Sports Council amongst others.
